


What If?

by frostxxbitex



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-13
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-06-08 04:06:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6838387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frostxxbitex/pseuds/frostxxbitex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“A series of lengthy one-shots focusing on each episode that Leorai were in and one of them chose differently.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Leo helped Karai steal Miyamoto Musashi’s sword? [1x14]

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All credit goes to respective owners and creators. Only this idea is mine.

  _“It’s ancient, it’s priceless… and it’s yours.”_

Her offer stirred something deep within him. The possibilities of being caught, the rush of committing a crime, anticipation of what’s to come – all of this was too much, too strong and all but chased away how _wrong_ it is.

First instinct, ofcourse, was to shoot the idea down. Master Splinter would be _so_ disappointed if he were to find out…

But no one would. This would just be their little secret – his and Karai’s.

Any concern left in his stirring stomach is gone when he makes eye contact with his new… friend.

“Let’s do it.”

Karai seems surprised as her eyes widen slightly but disappears just as quickly as it had appeared with determination and thrill replacing it.

“You’re leader of the others… how do you suggest we go about this?” By the way she said it, it seemed she was not used to taking orders but also didn’t want to lose his assistance.

For once, he relinquishes control.

“You seem to be more experienced at this.” He tries not to say it with _too_ much accusation. “I’ll follow you.”

Her red lips twist pleasurably and he finds himself enamoured by the simple change of her expression and by the need that starts to stir within him.

She scoops up the binoculars between them, shattering the spell. “It’s some sort of gallery so security will be tight – best not to go through any windows.” The knee she was balancing on lifts as she stands to her full height. “It’s on the eighteenth story, only two levels down from the top. The ventilation system seems like our best option.” She hesitates and lets the arm holding the binoculars fall to her side – “Unless you have a better idea?”

 _This isn’t easy on her,_ he realises with some amusement and fascination. Karai must serve a big role in the Foot Clan. Maybe after this, they can talk…

“No better ideas from me,” he relents with a small smile.

Her binoculars are then tucked into the sash around her waist at her right – his eyes follow her every movement. This must be how Donnie feels around April… the unrelenting desire to learn everything about her, to know what it feels like to touch her, kiss her… He clears his throat and looks pointedly away.

He jumps when her hand falls on his shoulder; the slender gloved fingers are silky on his skin. Her thumb brushes over his deltoid. “Nervous?”

_Yes…_

“Not really. Curious if anything,” that can be said about their robbery and about the girl standing next to him, pressing her fingers into his goose-bump covered shoulder.

Only when she removes her hand does he stand.

* * *

The vents were large enough for his shell to fit through and if not for that, Leo would be pretty embarrassed right now. He doesn’t bother to close the vent hatch behind him, they would only be coming back and after months of patrols, he knows that security rarely checks out the rooftops – it was where they were safest.

“Your turn,” Karai says in the darkness, crawling ahead of him.

 _That_ was Leo’s current issue. Ignoring that he had the perfect view of her ass was difficult.

Though they had started a game while hopping rooftops and climbing through the shaft slowly.  _21 questions_ as Karai called it.

“Right…” Leo had started the game with a pretty generic ‘ _what’s your favourite colour?’_ with her response resembling a laugh and _'violet'._ She had just thrown the question back at him and annoyingly enough, _blue_ didn’t come to mind as he answered easily _amber, like a sunset._

It only took her looking back at him in the short space for him to notice her eyes and what colour they were.

“What do you do… when you’re not doing this?”

She makes that sound again, cross between a laugh and a sarcastic snort. “What do I do when I’m not thieving? Hmm…”

“And working for the Shredder,” Leo adds for good measure.

Karai stays silent, probably thinking when they reach a corner. “Training, I guess…”

He dwells on that as he distractedly answers her next question; _how did you become leader?_ She laughs again when he says that he simply asked to be.

They reach the room with the katana and the vent is now large enough for Leo to crawl up next to her. Although there was now enough room, their arms were pressed together and her face was _so close to his._ His cheeks warm.

Her effect on him was disarming.

But her focus is elsewhere. Her amber eyes zero in on their target and he simply watches as her irises flick around the room, searching and calculative. _She’s amazing._

“Two guards,” she tells him, nodding to the door of the sizeable room. “I got him; you take the one by the window.”

Leo rips his eyes from hers, looking at the guard. “Got it…”

Karai goes first and he hangs back, just to admire the way she takes the guard out swiftly and without an issue. She blends into the shadows, stalking before cupping a hand over his mouth to stifle any noise, and choked him out. He fell to the ground softly as Karai crouches behind the katana. She nods to him.

* * *

“Nice job,” Karai pants to his left, hands braced on her knees. “For a second I thought you would leave me there…”

He’s in a similar position, but his right hand holds his new katana proudly in front of him. The blade was astonishingly well looked after. _It’s wrong, but it feels so good…_ But in this moment, he didn’t care if it was morally wrong, socially unacceptable, _and criminal –_ because Karai was next to him, grateful that he saved her and giving him a smile that men would go to war for.

_Or commit a crime for._

Not knowing how to respond to her version of ‘ _thanks_ ’, he returns her smile.

Leo’s prepared to leave it at that, ready to say goodbye and hopefully see her again soon – because if he doesn’t leave now, he might not ever… but quickly, reality slaps him.

“I can’t take this,” Leo realises and stares down at his prize.

Karai gives him a look and straightens. “We went through all that for you to, what? Put it back?”

“I… Master Splinter will know! He – oh heck, he’s going to kill me.”

He paces, mind racing at the ways Sensei is going to punish him for committing this crime. ‘ _Didn't I raise you better?_ ’, ‘ _what kind of Leader are you supposed to be by setting bad examples?_ ’ and even worse – when Splinter finds out that Leo had help, from Shredder’s _Foot Soldier._

It was a pipe dream, after all. Being the reckless brother, having _fun…_

The sword is slipped from his hands and Karai balances the blade on her palm. “Then we hide it, so you won’t have to take it home.”

They mutually decide to hide it at the Byerly Building and tuck it safely behind a billboard.

“It’s been fun,” Karai waltzes to the edge. “We should do this again sometime.”

“I don’t think making a habit out of this will go down well with my family,” he jokes as she stares away from him. Her shoulders lift in a laugh. He likes the sound.

“No, I suppose it wouldn’t, hmm?”

Without goodbye, Karai drops and disappears into the night.

He turns with a goofy grin on his face and faces a very fuming Raphael. His arms are crossed tightly, eyes piercing into his, accusation burning within them.

“You’ve got some explaining to do, fearless.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To sum up - Raph still isn’t impressed. 


	2. Karai stayed? [2x22]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All credit goes to respective owners and creators. Only this idea is mine.

_I’m leaving tonight;_ Karai repeats the mantra until the guilt fades.

Unsurprisingly,Michelangelo – _Mikey –_ is the firstto welcome her whole-heartedly. He drags her to the kitchen with no fear, his hand securely wrapped around her wrist and he shoves her gently towards the fridge.

“We can make pizza!” He pumps a closed fist into the air joyfully. “I’ve wondered what kind of toppings you would like…”

She swallows and opens the fridge, _her_ fridge, “pineapple and ham, usually.” Karai rarely has pizza but it’s consistently Hawaiian when she does.

Mikey frowns as he slaps a container of ‘Flour’ – as the label says – on the counter. “We have no pineapple… oh well, I can improvise!” His downcast expression vanishes as he reaches for the dry yeast.

Karai diligently fetches the ingredients he asks for. Cooking was foreign to her; she could make toast on a good day but even she knew it had too much crunch.

 _Rice,_ she corrects herself, _side dishes, sushi, stuff from home._

An uncomfortable feeling settles in her stomach, twisting and prodding – _you **are** home._

One day, with the Shredder gone, Karai may finally start to feel like she belongs… one day.

“How do you get all this stuff?” Karai questions when she hands the over-eager mutant some warm water that she poured into a bowl. “I don’t suppose you just walk into the grocery store and ignore the looks.”

Mikey grins at her as if she hadn’t just inadvertently insulted him. “Nah, April and Casey help us out.”

_O’Neil and her boyfriend, huh…_

“Before them…?” Mikey is her safest bet on finding out the family history. She doesn’t imagine Raphael would be in a sharing mood, or Donatello. Leo might… but Mikey was easy, too willing to divulge information.

Mikey begins to knead the dough and she sits across from him on the stool, getting comfortable as the youngest turtle begins –

“Worms, algae… all the stuff you can find in the sewer,” Mikey pointedly ignores her look of disgust. “Then we found _pizza_ and our lives changed forever…” He sighs dreamily, a far-away look in his bright, baby blue eyes.

Karai smirks.

“Fifteen years of _worms?_ ”

“We don’t eat them anymore… well, sometimes,” he leans across the bowl and drops his voice to a low whisper. “I cut some up and put it in the pizza sauce. The bro’s have no idea!” He snickers and moves away. Her look prompts him to fling his hands up, shaking them in defence and splashing wet dough on her armour. “I won’t do that to you, though! Swear it!”

 _Unless you want to lose a finger, you won’t._ Karai keeps the comment to herself, picks off the dough and watches him work.

 _He’s naïve, sometimes stupid…_ Karai smiles _and everything I want for a little brother._

* * *

_I’m leaving tonight._

“Hey gap-tooth,” Karai greets at the lab entrance. Donatello throws her a look over his shoulder, annoyed at the nickname. “Dinner should be ready in about ten minutes. Mikey wanted me to tell you.”

“Did he tell you to call me ‘gap-tooth’, too?”

She shrugs a shoulder and slips into the spacious room. “He may have given me a few suggestions.”

Donatello pushes a slide away from the microscope and carefully puts it away.

“What’s that?” curious, Karai inches closer and peers at Donatello’s workspace.

His mouth opens a little, maybe shocked that she’s starting a conversation – she kind of is, too – he recovers and points at the microscope and four vials containing samples of blood.

“Retro-mutagen; to return mutants into their original state,” he explains.

Karai leans close to the slide. “You can do that?”

“Y-yes!” Donatello laughs and Karai wonders if maybe his brothers don’t show interest in what he does. “April’s DNA is partly connected to Kraang meaning she, too, is a mutant. Thanks to her blood, I am able to create a cure.”

 _Part Kraang_ a part of her laughs. Images of her first fight with O’Neil flicker across her mind. Karai no longer felt the stab of envy when thinking of Princess Peach.

“We needed a cure for April’s dad,” Donatello’s voice takes on a new tone, one Karai recognizes well. It’s the way Shredder sounded when he spoke of her mother. “Miraculously, it worked.”

Karai forces the betrayal she felt at the thought of Shredder away and smiles gently at the mutant. “Did you get the girl?”

He sputters, “what!? N-no, no! What _girl?_ ”

She quirks a brow at him. “You may be a genius, but subtlety is not your specialty.”

Donatello stammers for a bit more, hurriedly cleaning his bench up as Karai rolls on the balls of her feet and watches, bemused.

* * *

_I’m leaving tonight._

The next turtle Karai fetches for dinner is Raphael. He’s in the Dojo, training on his own and Karai watches for a bit, noting how his knees seem to give him some trouble. _Shredder had that issue, too._

Thoughts of him were never far off, but at least she broke the awful habit of calling him _Father._

“Enjoying the show, princess?”

Karai notes that he no longer talks to her sourly, an accusation always lingering. Instead, he grins at her.

“ _Actually,_ I came to tell you dinner will be ready soon. You might want to try some yoga for your knees.”

The grin is wiped away. “My knees?”

“Yeah, you put most of your weight on them which isn’t helping.” Karai eyes the extra bandages around his calf. “Yoga heals, wraps prevent.”

His face twists at her words. “ _What?_ ”

With a huff, Karai walks in and shoves him to the side to give her room, though there was heaps – _he’s just so stubborn_ and she knew he would be the difficult one.

“Sit down and stop complaining.”

Just like Donnie – he insisted she used his name instead of gap-tooth – Raphael sputters at her boldness. She arches a brow and he relents, sitting down and copying her position of one leg tucked under the other, his right outstretched.

“Good, do this before and after yoga stretches – just the usual, mountain, warrior, that sort of thing. Do it night and day. And lay of the constant kicking – it doesn’t help _at all.”_

“If I wanted a physical therapist, I would ask for one,” Raphael grunts and let’s Karai angle his leg properly.

She chuckles, “I would refer you to mine, but he only treats people.”

“You have a physical therapist?”

Karai sucks in a breath. “Uh, yeah… Shredder and I shared one. I had some trouble with my arm when I was younger after I broke it.”

Raphael squints at her. “Your arm is not a knee.”

“Great deduction, but I _do_ know what I’m talking about. Shredder had the same issue. Was so stubborn about it…”

As she thought, the mention of Shredder sours the conversation and they stay silent as Karai helps his leg stretch properly and massages around his calf – just as she had for _him._

That’s how Leo finds them.

“Karai? Can I, uh, talk to you for a second?”

She nods and taps the side of Raphael’s knee gently. “Remember to do the poses.”

* * *

_I’m leaving tonight._

“Nice to see you two bonding,” Leo smiles as they walk into the Den.

“There’s been a lot of that tonight,” Karai sighs and feels the mantra start to lose its meaning. She just wanted to get a constant threat out of her life, out of _their_ life; even if it would cost her own.

They walk together, her mostly following him, when he stops at four doors. “We uh, need to make a new bedroom for you,” he starts. “Until then, Splinter is setting up a mattress in the dojo for you.” He looks upset, ashamed that these are the circumstances in which she will be living.

Karai touches his arm. “It’s better than the floor of a dusty cell.”

That does the trick – kind of. He smiles but his eyes, lapis blue, darken.

“We don’t have to talk about it.”

She wants to make _him_ feel better. It took her maybe a week to accept what Shredder had done to her, the lengths he went to, to cover his tracks… Leo, however, wasn’t on the same page as her, it seems.

“We’ll stop him, Karai. All of us, together.”

Karai nods and the guilt rises up – she has to physically bite her tongue to keep her own secret. _I’m leaving, Leo,_ she lets go of his arm and heads to the kitchen for dinner. _And I might not come back._

* * *

_I’m not leaving; I can’t fucking to do it._

Karai is at the turnstiles, head bowed and palms braced on the surface.

_The looks on their stupid faces…_

Dinner was expected to be tense, awkward but it wasn’t, not in the slightest. Ok, it _was_ until Mikey cracked the tension the way he does so effortlessly.

She was laughing at Mikey’s antics, a bubble of _–_ shit _, love –_ exploding in her chest and it seemed in unison, every single mutant at that table looked at her to register her reaction.

Mikey was arrogantly proud. Donnie smiled brightly, his gap-tooth glaring right at her. Raphael hid his own grin behind a large closed fist. Leo… his eyes were shining as he watched her.

Her father looked so at peace…

_Now she can’t fucking leave._

To never have that moment again, to never eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with them… well, she couldn’t bear it.

It took one hour. Just one hour for her plans to crash into oblivion and leave a selfish mess hesitating at the turnstiles.

_“You could sleep in my room,” Leo had offered while she tested the pillow out. “I wouldn’t mind, really. I’ve slept in the Den countless times.”_

_Karai glared at him. “I can handle a floor, Leo, really.”_

_“I know you can, I just don’t **want** that for you.” He shook his head, his hand covering his face suddenly. “I didn’t want any of this for you.”_

Karai frowns, hands closing into fists.

_“It wasn’t on my agenda either.” She made light of the situation because she’s uncomfortable with touchy-feely moments and it worked. Leo had laughed, turned around and left with a simple ‘goodnight’ and ‘see you in the morning’._

It was then that Karai decided that he _would_ because disappointing him, the one who had more faith in her than herself was the last thing she intended to do.

Karai sinks to her knees and presses her forehead into the turnstile, defeated.

It wasn’t on her agenda… becoming a part of this family, loving them in the span of a few hours… none of that was planned.

She stands and heads for the Dojo.

_We’ll get him, Karai. All of us, together…_

Her vendetta could wait.

* * *

Karai is woken up by the sounds of yelling and pounding. With one eye squinted shut against the light, she begrudgingly walks out into the Den.

Donnie is pounding his fist on the bathroom door. “ _Mikey!_ ”

“At least I won’t need an alarm clock,” she mumbles as she passes Donnie to the kitchen.

Leo is making pancakes.

And it’s the most ludicrous sight she has ever seen.

An apron with purple and yellow butterflies is strapped around his waist. A bottle of syrup is in one hand with six plates balanced on the other.

“Lookin’ good,” Karai compliments with a grin, sits across from him and stretches to take a plate. “It’s a shame that apron didn’t come with a bow.”

Leo, mirroring her smile, places the mountain of plates down and grabs a knife and fork from the drawer for her.

“Laugh all you want, I pull this off way better than Raph.”

She holds her plate out as Leo shovels four pancakes onto it.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Mhm,” Karai murmurs around a bite.

“It’s good to see you this morning.”

His eyes are knowing and Karai forces herself to swallow. _He knows…_

“I don’t like to disappoint.”

“That you didn’t…” He sits across from her and they eat in comfortable silence.

_I’m not leaving._


	3. Karai went to North Hampton? Pt.1 [3x01]

_Three months,_ Karai ponders on the swing seat outside the farmhouse.

April writes in her ever-growing notebook beside her, stopping her fluid movements of words to sketch New York, Splinter and Karai, the turtles surrounding their fallen leader.

_Three months and Leo still hasn’t woken up._

With a sigh, Karai tears her gaze away from the drawing of Leo comatose in the bathtub.

“You don’t like it?” April questions, outlining Casey’s hockey mask with care.

She chews on her bottom lip; the drawing is fine, the situation is not.

“Maybe you should go see him,” the red-headed kunoich suggests lightly, giving Karai a side-glance.

The second story window of the bathroom glares back at her.

It was easier not to respond than defend her excuses – they weren’t good enough and were all selfish. _It’s too hard seeing him like that… unresponsive –_ who the hell would understand that?  Sometimes _she_ didn’t even understand her reasoning but that was mainly at midnight when she couldn’t sleep because just down the hall there he was, waiting.

April lets the topic go and starts to write again. The two weren’t exactly _BFF’s_ but they got along well enough now and April never started arguments when Karai wouldn’t check on Leo with the others before bed.

Not like Raphael, anyway.

The already fragile relationship between them was more strained than ever.

_“Do you even care?” Raphael had growled at her after the first week of pointedly ignoring Leo’s state._

Furious he would even suggest otherwise, Karai had gotten in a pretty serious fight with him that ended with a broken window, the couch flipped on its back and Mikey covering his ears.

The two avoid each other when possible, rarely speak and when they do, Leo is left out of the conversation.

He was her least favourite of the bunch anyway.

* * *

 

“Alright, quiet down everybody!” Mikey instructs from his spot right in front of the television. “It’s time for my new favourite show~!” 

Karai settles into the armchair, pizza in hand and legs folded beneath her. From her short time in the Lair, she knew how obsessive these guys got over the crappy old time cartoons - but _this_? This was a new level of absurdity.

“ _Nuh-uh_. No way am I watching Crogdork again. Give me the remote,” Karai leans forward to pluck the device from his grasp but he hugs it to his chest, eyes growing wide. 

“ _Shh_! The slug people are on!”

Sharing a look of exasperation with the others, Karai forces herself to back down and lets Mikey have his way. 

“Guys...  _Guys!_ _**Get up here**_!”

Everyone moves fast - so fast that Karai hasn’t even managed to blink. Her ears are roaring with the sound of her heartbeat and four pairs of feet flying up the stairs at once. Raph’s shriek can be one of two things: the worst, or the best. Given her track record with news, she isn’t very confident in the latter.

It isn’t until she hears Mikey exclaim: “Leo! You’re back!” that she’s running up the steps two at time.

Her eyes fall on him and she almost can’t comprehend the emotions raging inside. She waits in the doorway, not wanting to intrude on the brothers reunion.

There’s a tense moment of silence when their eyes meet - April is wringing her hands nervously, Raph is glaring at her and Mikey’s head is whipping between them rapidly. She sees all of this from the corner of her eyes, because she cant tear them from his. 

“Took you long enough.” 

* * *

   
“He’s sustained damage to his throat... and pretty much everywhere else, for that matter.”

The verdict from Donnie had unsettled everyone and after catching Leo up on what he's missed the past three months, Karai found herself feeling more like an outcast than when she first moved in with them. It was guilt, guilt she had been preparing for but it rendered her speechless. That and Raphael's fixed scowl whenever Leo directed a question at her.

The night ends fast and even though Leo was wide awake, Donnie convinced him that rest was important. Karai hangs back as the others head up the stairs, determined to have a moment alone with him without being judged by his tempered brother.

"You okay?"

He's on the couch for the time-being until his leg is well enough to climb the stairs without assistance. She busies herself with unfolding the throw blanket April had fetched from the linen closet. It was scratchy and irritated her skin - but she needed something else to look at. 

“Are you?”

“I wasn’t thrown through a window, Leo. That was you.” 

Leo tries to smile, but it morphs into a grimace as he lifts his legs onto the couch. “Spit it out, Karai. What’s bothering you?” 

She wonders if she should even tell him. These types of moments weren’t something she pursued - it was uncomfortable and made her feel inadequate. But it had to be said if she were to find any peace of mind.

“Raphael and I aren’t on the best of terms.”

He chuckles. It’s pained and he needs to force it, but it’s nice to hear. “Are you ever?”

She cracks a smile and decides to save her admission for another time. When she changes the subject to the new show Mikey is addicted to, Leo lets her get away with it. He knows she’s hiding something, but he won’t press her on it until she’s ready - as always. 

* * *

   
The next morning Raphael corners her in the kitchen. She was making two teas - one for Leo and the tempered brother wasn’t about to let her get away with it.

“You’ve got some nerve, y’know that?”

She tries to ignore him and dunks the teabag repeatedly into the water. It stars to change from clear to a raspberry red - kind of like Raph’s face. 

“I’ve barely slept waiting for him to wake up. I jumped at the slightest noise while you never even _bothered_ to check on him!” 

If she had told Leo last night then a rebuttal would have ended this argument for good. Now all she can do is listen as Raph lists all she has done wrong in her life and silently agree that _yes_ , _I am the worst._  

* * *

   
When Leo and Raph returned to the farmhouse, the topic everyone had been avoiding was brought up: “ _Where is Master Splinter?_ ”

The question took Karai off guard and her appetite for microwave pizza fled. Leo knew the answer wasn’t one he would want as the air got thick and no one could muster up the courage to tell him _he’s gone._

She’s about to when Raphael’s judging eyes shoot her down. Another thing he blames her for; the destruction of his sensei by her former father. Like that’s what she wanted. 

Karai could understand his anger on behalf of Leo, she could even understand why he can’t fully bring himself to trust her - but she never wanted Splinter gone. _Never._

“Spit it out, Raphael.” 

“Oh? Can the Princess of the Foot not handle the truth? It’s _your fault_ he’s gone.”  Raphael who still had an arm around Leo carefully sits him down into an armchair by the unlit fireplace.

“Shredder threw him down the drain pipe. Not me.”

 He advances, a finger pointed threateningly at her. “Because of _you_. All of this happened _because of you!_ ”

She stands, the plate with her two Hawaiian pizza squares flying to the ground; Mikey doesn’t even try to save it. Instinct tells her to go for her tanto but no matter how angry she gets at him - they’re family now and she needs to learn to control her impulses, just as Splinter told her. 

“I was an infant when Shredder took me, meathead! Do you think I wanted to be raised by a psychotic coward?”

Raph is shaking his head before she even finishes. Nothing she says will get through to him - he holds grudges almost as well as her. He paces by Leo’s side, his thumb and forefinger holding his chin. 

Ever the peacekeeper, April hesitantly steps into the space between her and Raph. At some point, everyone had moved to the side - no one wanted to be in the way should one attack the other. 

“I think maybe we should all get some fresh air. Maybe get some more training in, let out some aggression,” she says that last part to Raph. 

“No. Leo wants to know what happened to Sensei and he should.” Raph gives Karai a wag of his finger, as if he’s about to blow all her secrets and turns to his brother. “Shredder went after Splinter because he wanted _her_ back. Said that he wouldn’t rest. Sensei refused to hand her over, instructed us to keep her _safe_ and _watch_ as Shredder defeated him!” His voice escalated with every word and Donnie was sinking further into the lounge. Mikey, by his side, grasped his brother’s arm. No one wanted to relive that memory. 

Her composure that she managed to keep even under all his judgement bursts. “ _He was my father, too!_ ” Karai screams. 

Raph reaches back for his Sai’s. Leo, still in the armchair, tries to restrain him but there’s little he can do in his fragile state. April grabs Karai’s arm before she can wield her own weapon and drags her out the front door. 

* * *

  


When she, April and Mikey who had followed them out for ‘ _girl-talk_ ’ returns to the farmhouse, no one says a word. Raph had retreated upstairs with Casey and Donnie had fully explained to Leo what had transpired that night. 

Now it was evening and Karai could barely look at Raph _or_ Leo. She was afraid that he would come to the same conclusion Raph did - that what happened to Splinter was her fault and could have been avoided had they just handed her over to Shredder.

“Maybe he’s not really gone.” Leo breaks the silence. 

“Splinter _was_ a great ninja master.” April agrees, hopeful and holds her cup of tea with both hands. Donnie had only just convinced her to stop drinking coffee so late at night to avoid the nightmares. Her solution was to turn to Karai for tea instead. 

“The greatest in his century.” 

She disagrees with Raphael on a lot of things, but Splinter’s prowess is not one of them. Splinter and Shredder were as skilled as each other - cheating won above honor this time.

Mikey screams when the power cuts out just as Crognard starts to air. Donnie announces that it’s just a blown-fuse and that he’ll have it fixed in no time - but Karai is suspicious when wind from seemingly nowhere snuffs out the fire beside Leo.

“ _Great._ Looks like we need more firewood.” Raph mutters and frowns as Donnie’s flashlight clicks off.

“Are you _kidding_?” 

* * *

   
“Alright, we split up.” Leo declares almost two hours after Raphael left to retrieve more wood. Teams are split into April - Casey and Mikey - Donnie. 

“What about you?” April asks.

“I’ll wait at the farmhouse in case Raph comes back. I won’t be much help out there anyway.” Leo takes two steps towards the farmhouse with his cane before he hesitates. “Karai -”

She stands to the side, arms crossed. “I’ll go with Mikey and Donnie.” 

Leo looks like he’s about to argue, insist that she come inside but he resigns with a nod. No doubt he wanted to question her about what happened earlier but she wasn’t ready, and he knew that.

* * *

 

  
“RAPHHHH!” Mikey screams for the dozenth time and sighs. “I don’t know guys, think he got lost? Maybe he got eaten by a rabid squirrel...”

“I do not think that, no. I’m just _freaking_ because April and Casey went off on their own... _alone_.” Donnie quickens his pace and Karai smirks. She had figured out his feelings for her long ago, when he came to rescue April from Chromedome - but she had thought he might be at the very least subtle about it.

Mikey stops walking. “Why? Because they forgot to bring a compass?” 

“No, genius. What happens when two teenagers that like each other go out into the woods _alone_?”

The youngest turtle deliberates for a long minute and gasps, “they get eaten by squirrels!”

“Forget I said anything.” 

Karai walks beside Donnie and nudges his elbow with hers. “There is a pretty simple way to get April to like you, y’know.” At his quizzical look, she stresses: “ _Tell her_.” 

He waves her off and sighs. 

“Seriously, D. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“I could die.” 

She quirks a brow. “You cannot possibly die from a confession. Aren’t you supposed to be the brainy one?”

“Actually, it is entirely possible to die from a broken heart. _Stress-induced cardiomyopathy_ or _takotsubo cardiomyopathy_ occurs during stressful and emotional events such as divorce, break-ups, romantic rejection. Its quite similar to having a heart attack, however it is not caused from blocked arteries but the enlargement of the heart where it cannot pump well. While it occurs more often in women and is rarely fatal, I do not doubt that I would be the exception.” 

“Forget I said anything.” 

* * *

  
Further into the woods, the trio come upon a lone shed; the door sways with the breeze. 

“Let’s check it out!” Mikey slaps a hand on both their shoulders. “You first,” he nudges Donnie forward.

Karai sighs and kicks the door open. As foreboding as the night was, she didn’t believe in ghosts and was not about to let something as silly as a _shed_ freak her out. 

She almost runs into Donnie when he stands solid by a table with four candles. A bottle of green liquid sits in the middle. “Mutagen?” She guesses by the contents and shines the light onto the bottle. ‘LEO’S ELIXIR’ is written on the masking tape. 

Mikey grabs the both of them and slaps a hand over Donnie’s mouth when screams. Karai stares at the bundle of what _honestly_ can only be described as mutated grass shudders in the corner.

“Uh, hello?” Mikey tries to greet what ever the hell it is.

It lurches upwards with a growl and the trio sprint out of the shed. They make a dive for safety. Karai spins around, glaring at the bound creature that is wearing Raph’s bandanna.

“I think it’s _Raph_.” Donnie sits up. “Something must have infected him.”

Mikey screams as vines ensnare him and pull him upwards. He hangs from a branch upside down. Karai grabs her tanto and prepares to cut him loose - but is knocked to the side, into the base of a tree.

Donnie is hurtling her way and she quickly rolls to the side. The mutant pins him there by his bandanna with a pitchfork. 

“Karai - _go_! Warn Leo!”

* * *

  
The woods weren’t something she was used to. Her training in the outdoors had only just begun when Shredder discovered the Hamato Clan was residing in New York. Now she’s lost. _Of all times_. She couldn’t even find her tracks in the dirt - the mutant is probably to thank for that.

Just when she thinks that maybe she just took another wrong turn, April’s cries erupt from the shadows. Karai ducks behind a tree and slows her breathing. Getting caught now was not an option. 

“Let me _go_ , you freak!” April demands, her fists hammering hard on the grip around her neck. 

Karai hesitates. She wants to help her and probably could if she knew how to stop the damn thing without condemning her family in the process. 

 _Have to warn Leo_ , she reminds herself. _Before he does something reckless on his own._

When the coast is clear, Karai starts to run in the direction April was dragged from. _Get to Leo, devise a reasonable rescue operation that won’t put him at greater risk and somehow stop the mutant for good -_

_“Karai?”  
_

“ _Leo_?” 

They stare for a second, unblinking... then: “ _What_ do you think you’re doing out here?” Karai demands, marching over to where he stands beside a tree that he’s firmly braced himself on. 

“April. It took April.” He huffs, clearly struggling on one foot.

“I know. It has the others as well,” she glances behind her. “Quick, I need to get you back to the farmhouse before it comes back.”

She reaches for his shoulders to turn him around but he stands solid under her hold. “No. I’m not going back without them.” 

_Fearless Leader. Going to get himself killed one of these days._

Exasperated, she tries to turn him around again. He doesn’t budge. “You can’t even walk without a stick. What makes you think you can confront this thing and win?”

“I have you, don’t I?” He manages _that_ smile again. The one they shared last night before bed and she’s already agreeing to help him without a second thought.

* * *

  
“Help! _Heeeelp_!”

Karai winces. She’s perched on top of the mutants shed, waiting to ambush when Leo gives the signal - they quickly went over the plan as they rushed through the woods. It wasn’t full-proof and about a _million_ things could go wrong, but the gist was: _Leo distracts. Karai attacks._

He is far away, hiding himself behind a tree but in plain sight of her. When the mutant leaves the shed in search of his voice, she signals to him with two fingers. 

A shuriken embeds itself into it’s impenetrable head. 

Leo emerges from the shadows at last. He throws his makeshift cane to the side and his leg shakes, about to give way but Leo was stubborn. He wasn’t going to let his disability get in the way of rescuing his family.

He draws his blades, one cut in half and dodges just as the mutant strikes. Karai watches him fight carefully - she had sworn to wait for the signal, but she also would not let him be harmed more than he already was. 

That time comes fast - faster than she can jump off the shed and land a kick into the mutants head. Leo, having been flung into the air, is reaching for his cane on the ground and she quickly catches on. The mutant tries to ward off her endless attacks to his sides, legs and head, but he’s moving backwards and closer to Leo.

* * *

  
They all sit in the barn that Donnie has crafted into his new lab. It had been hours since the Creep quite literally turned Raph into a plant and Karai was resting on a bale of hay.

Leo sat next to her the moment he heard the good news from Donnie: _Raph would be just fine._ After three months of being constantly watched by his younger brother, he demonstrated the same amount of affection they had for each other. 

“After all of this,” Leo speaks, only to her. “I want to hear what happened from you.”

She knew what he meant. _That night._ The night they lost him, Splinter and the city. She wanted to avoid this topic, all of it, because it meant admitting why she chose to check in on him. And she didn’t have an answer. 

Without a doubt she knew had their roles been reversed, Leo would not have let her out of sight. And she selfishly chose to protect her own peace of mind by pretending he wasn’t hurt at all and that he wasn’t comatose in the bathroom right down the hall from her and April’s bedroom.

“Tomorrow,” she sighs. “I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone that is confused af: Karai was never mutated (you can imagine it's a continuation off chapter 2 tbh), she helped fight for the City and is still figuring out where she fits in with the family.


End file.
